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10-16-2018, 03:54 PM

Quote: @"BlackMagic7" said:
After calling out the playing time Holton Hill had been getting I've noticed less and less of him. Not sure I noticed him on defense for a single snap Sunday.

0 Snaps Sunday. 5 games with 6% or less defensive snaps.

Snap Counts
								Off.		Def.		ST
Rk	G#	Date	Tm		Opp	Result	Pos	Num	Pct	Num	Pct	Num	Pct
1	1	2018-09-09	MIN		SFO	W 24-16	DB	0	0.0%	4	6.1%	22	78.6%
2	2	2018-09-16	MIN	@	GNB	T 29-29	CB	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	16	43.2%
3	3	2018-09-23	MIN		BUF	L 6-27	CB	0	0.0%	1	1.5%	19	79.2%
4	4	2018-09-27	MIN	@	LAR	L 31-38	CB	0	0.0%	12	21.8%	22	66.7%
5	5	2018-10-07	MIN	@	PHI	W 23-21	CB	0	0.0%	3	5.1%	19	70.4%
6	6	2018-10-14	MIN		ARI	W 27-17	CB	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	22	75.9%
		Total						0		20		12

10-16-2018, 04:18 PM

Too soon to declare that Rhodes is in decline, but doesn't it seem like an "untouchable shutdown All-Pro" CB emerges every few years, but suddenly they are 29 and getting picked on and bouncing between teams? Antonio Cromartie, Nnamdi Asomugha, Richard Sherman... Often they change teams and it turns out they were in a system that was perfect for their skills and they had great complementary teammates. Zimmer may have changed coverage schemes so much that Rhodes hasn't yet adjusted. I hope it doesn't mean Michael Thomas showed the league how to deal with Rhodes.
Also, Trae Waynes has been better than ever IMO. That makes teams keep throwing at Rhodes. Who still thinks we shouldn't give Waynes a contract extension?

10-17-2018, 01:49 AM

Zim comes from a defensive minded time--you stop the other guy and pick your spots to get a score here and there for the victory. He as drafted to get there---unfortunately, the league is evolving into flag/arena ball and he like many others hasn't adapted on the fly fast enough. I still strongly believe in zim(we might not be arena ready this season but they'll adapt.)

10-17-2018, 02:06 PM

Quote: @"Tyr" said:
I'm not sure what's going on with Rhodes this year. Teams are doing a good job of completing passes in front of him and he's not really breaking up passes right now.

With Smith, it seemed like the Saints and Eagles demonstrated how to attack him in the playoffs and he hasn't been the same player since. He still makes some splash plays, like the sack today, but in coverage he tends to always be a step behind and not closing in hard like we're used to seeing.

I have two other thoughts that I'm not sure about. We seem to be running different coverages this year and it seems like more than I'm used to seeing, but maybe I'm wrong on that. I'm also curious if the amount of misdirection we're seeing is forcing the secondary to be less aggressive/more disciplined? Maybe they are OK with Rhodes allowing more completions in front of him if it reduces the number of big plays they are giving up?

This year we are running totally different coverages and I'm not sure why. Very seldom do we see press-man looks, CB's are playing 7-10 yards off on most plays. I've also noticed we are actually running a TON of Cover 3 and very little true man to man unless we blitz. It's actually similar to Seahawks looks from a few years back. I'm not sure why, but I really don't think we run Cover 3 very effectively. Love to see someone with game film breakdowns of why and how we're doing this. IMO that's why Rhodes looks to be late breaking on balls is that's often playing zone.

10-17-2018, 03:01 PM

Quote: @"SFVikeFan" said:

@"Tyr" said:
I'm not sure what's going on with Rhodes this year. Teams are doing a good job of completing passes in front of him and he's not really breaking up passes right now.

With Smith, it seemed like the Saints and Eagles demonstrated how to attack him in the playoffs and he hasn't been the same player since. He still makes some splash plays, like the sack today, but in coverage he tends to always be a step behind and not closing in hard like we're used to seeing.

I have two other thoughts that I'm not sure about. We seem to be running different coverages this year and it seems like more than I'm used to seeing, but maybe I'm wrong on that. I'm also curious if the amount of misdirection we're seeing is forcing the secondary to be less aggressive/more disciplined? Maybe they are OK with Rhodes allowing more completions in front of him if it reduces the number of big plays they are giving up?
This year we are running totally different coverages and I'm not sure why. Very seldom do we see press-man looks, CB's are playing 7-10 yards off on most plays. I've also noticed we are actually running a TON of Cover 3 and very little true man to man unless we blitz. It's actually similar to Seahawks looks from a few years back. I'm not sure why, but I really don't think we run Cover 3 very effectively. Love to see someone with game film breakdowns of why and how we're doing this. IMO that's why Rhodes looks to be late breaking on balls is that's often playing zone.

Perhaps it is because Zimmer did adjust to the new rules. Seeing the NFL having the refs make sure the WRs run free combined with the RPOs and misdirection, perhaps he adjusted to limit that. It may take some time for the D to adjust, but perhaps he is ahead of the game.

If you think about it, other than the Rams (and Bills with short fields and a 17 point lead) our D hasn't played that bad. AZ scored 10, Philly 21 on the road (13 before we went prevent with a large lead) GB 22 ( 1 TD 5 FGs, 2 off short fields on turnovers) and SF 16. There have been WTF moments for sure, but in reality, that isn't bad defense in this years NFL.